


Twenty-five Flights of Stairs

by RunaLiore



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-03 22:51:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2890967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunaLiore/pseuds/RunaLiore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set a couple years after the finale when the Earth Kingdom is finally ready to have its first independent state elections. President Raiko has spent the past week exhausted as he assists the new states in the electoral process. Somehow though, despite working just as many hours, Avatar Korra still seems bright and energetic, and Raiko can't figure out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Twenty-five Flights of Stairs

President Raiko hadn’t slept for more than ten hours over the past six days and the folds of his brow were looking all the worse for it. With the first elections in the old Earth Kingdom States just hours away, the president had been sprinting from one meeting to the next all week and fielding calls from state delegations in between. Elevator rides were now his only source of respite now and even then the tension in his neck made it nearly impossible for him to breathe easy. In the midst of all this then, he couldn’t stop himself from wondering why the Avatar seemed completely unfazed by all of this. She was working at least as many hours as he was and she was doing more legwork on top of that. Why then, Raiko wondered, was she standing in front of him completely awake, alert, and even bouncing on her heels and smiling?

The elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor and a flood of exhausted cabinet aids filed into the elevator. Before the door could close again, Korra slipped out into the hall to make way for one last aid and Raiko glowered at her.

“Avatar Korra, what are you doing!?”

As the doors closed, Korra waved back happily, “Don’t worry, I’ll just take the stairs and meet you there!”

Before Raiko could respond, the elevator was already rising. Even if it had stayed put though, he was still too stunned to speak. She’ll just take the stairs? The _stairs_? All twenty-five flights? She was the Avatar but gods, who in good sense could take on that many stairs when they’re rested and well fed, much less someone literally running on a scarce few hours of sleep. There was definitely something going on here.

It took another few minutes for Raiko’s elevator to reach its destination and, as he expected, Korra hadn’t arrived yet. He waited by the stairwell while every second on his watch scraped away a little bit of his patience, and probably a piece of his sanity as well. The polls in almost every state would be open in just a few hours and already there were problems in seven major election districts. As he glanced back and forth between his watch and the door to the stairwell, he started cursing his generosity and wishing he’d never offered to help the new states get their new leaders established. Just when he was about to give up on the Avatar and go on without her, the stairwell door creaked and slowly swung open. The one who stepped out into the hall, however, was not the Avatar.

“President Raiko, what a pleasure to see you here.” Asami Sato bowed slightly and smiled as she closed the door behind her.

“Oh, Mrs. Sato…” The President blinked and rubbed his eyes. As usual, there wasn’t a hair out of place on that woman’s head and her skin was almost glowing. If nothing else, she definitely didn’t look like she’d just climbed to the fortieth floor in four-inch heels. “I’m sorry to bother you but you didn’t happen to see your wife on the way up here, did you? She took the stairs from the fifteenth floor and we’ve got a meeting with the electoral delegates in three minutes.”

“Oh,” Asami shook her head, “No, I haven’t seen her since this morning. She must have been a few flights behind me.”

“…I see. Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Sato.”

“Not at all. Good luck today, Mister President.” Smiling a bit too smugly, Asami walked off down the hall and President Raiko muttered a tired ‘thanks’ as he got back to the busy work of waiting for the Avatar.

Less than thirty seconds later, the stairwell door opened again and finally, Avatar Korra appeared. When Raiko saw her, his face soured like a raisin in vinegar and he could feel his eye twitch.

“Avatar Korra, where have you been!?”

Korra gave him a nervous smile, “Hey, sorry it took so long, I didn’t think there would be so many stairs.”

“No excuses! We’ve got two minutes until we meet with the electoral delegates! And what – ” Something caught Raiko’s eye, something that the delegates would all notice right away. Grumbling, he reached into his jacket and tossed Korra a handkerchief.

“Do us both a favor and wipe your wife’s lipstick off your neck.”

“I don't know what you – oh, guess I missed one.” Blushing a bit, Korra dabbed her neck and wiped Asami’s lipstick away as she hurried down the hall. When she was finished, the President decided to let her keep the kerchief and promise that next time, she’d just stay in the damn elevator. Avatar Korra, however, made no promises.


End file.
